The Meaning of Luke 15:21 Explained

Luke 15:21

KJV: And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

YLT: and the son said to him, Father, I did sin -- to the heaven, and before thee, and no more am I worthy to be called thy son.

Darby: And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee; I am no longer worthy to be called thy son.

ASV: And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight: I am no more worthy to be called thy son.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  the son  said  unto him,  Father,  I have sinned  against  heaven,  and  in  thy  sight,  and  am  no more  worthy  to be called  thy  son. 

What does Luke 15:21 Mean?

Study Notes

sinned Sin.
.
sinned
Sin, Summary: The literal meanings of the Heb. and (Greek - ἀλεκτοροφωνία sin," "sinner," etc)., disclose the true nature of sin in its manifold manifestations. Sin is transgression, an overstepping of the law, the divine boundary between good and evil Psalms 51:1 ; Luke 15:29 , iniquity, an act inherently wrong, whether expressly forbidden or not; error, a departure from right; Psalms 51:9 ; Romans 3:23 , missing the mark, a failure to meet the divine standard; trespass, the intrusion of self-will into the sphere of divine authority Ephesians 2:1 , lawlessness, or spiritual anarchy 1 Timothy 1:9 , unbelief, or an insult to the divine veracity John 16:9 .
Sin originated with Satan Isaiah 14:12-14 , entered the world through Adam Romans 5:12 , was, and is, universal, Christ alone excepted; Romans 3:23 ; 1 Peter 2:22 , incurs the penalties of spiritual and physical death; Genesis 2:17 ; Genesis 3:19 ; Ezekiel 18:4 ; Ezekiel 18:20 ; Romans 6:23 and has no remedy but in the sacrificial death of Christ; Hebrews 9:26 ; Acts 4:12 availed of by faith Acts 13:38 ; Acts 13:39 . Sin may be summarized as threefold: An act, the violation of, or want of obedience to the revealed will of God; a state, absence of righteousness; a nature, enmity toward God.

Context Summary

Luke 15:11-24 - The Son Who "came To Himself" And To His Father
The pearl of parables! Too often we desire God's gifts apart from Himself. The far country is not far in actual distance, but in the alienation of the heart. You may be living in a pious home and yet be in the far country. Sin is waste. The far country is always swept by famine, because our soul was made for God and cannot live on husks. Neither things nor people can really appease our awful hunger if we are away from God.
Sin is temporary madness. The first step to God is to come to ourselves. The prodigal's real nature stood face to face with the ruin and havoc of his sin. Never, for a moment, had the Father ceased to love and yearn. There was an instant response to the slightest indication of repentance. Love was quicker than words, to understand what the prodigal meant. The confession was therefore cut short. Note the profuse welcome, meeting every need-the robe of righteousness, the ring of reconciliation, the kiss of love, the shoes of a holy walk, the feast of fellowship. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 15

1  The parable of the lost sheep;
8  of the piece of silver;
11  of the prodigal son

Greek Commentary for Luke 15:21

[]
The son made his speech of confession as planned, but it is not certain that he was able to finish as a number of early manuscripts do not have “Make me as one of the hired servants,” though Aleph B D do have them. It is probable that the father interrupted him at this point before he could finish. [source]
To be called thy son []
He omits make me a servant. The slavish spirit vanishes in the clasp of the father's arms. Bengel suggests that the father would not suffer him to utter the news. I once heard Norman McLeod say in a sermon, “Before the prodigal son reached his home he thought over what he should do to merit restoration. He would be a hired servant. But when his father came out and met him, and put his arms round him, and the poor boy was beginning to say this and that, the just shut his mouth, and said, 'I take you to my heart, and that's enough.'” [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 15:21

Luke 15:22 To his servants []
Bond-servants. There is a fine touch in throwing in the bond-servants immediately after thy son (Luke 15:21). [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 15:21 mean?

Said then the son to him Father I have sinned against - heaven and before you no longer am I worthy to be called son of you make me as one of the hired servants of you
Εἶπεν δὲ υἱὸς αὐτῷ Πάτερ ἥμαρτον εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ ἐνώπιόν σου οὐκέτι εἰμὶ ἄξιος κληθῆναι υἱός σου (ποίησόν με ὡς ἕνα τῶν μισθίων σου)

Εἶπεν  Said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
υἱὸς  son 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: υἱός  
Sense: a son.
αὐτῷ  to  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Πάτερ  Father 
Parse: Noun, Vocative Masculine Singular
Root: προπάτωρ 
Sense: generator or male ancestor.
ἥμαρτον  I  have  sinned 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: ἁμαρτάνω  
Sense: to be without a share in.
εἰς  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: εἰς  
Sense: into, unto, to, towards, for, among.
τὸν  - 
Parse: Article, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
οὐρανὸν  heaven 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: οὐρανός  
Sense: the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it.
ἐνώπιόν  before 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐνώπιον  
Sense: in the presence of, before.
οὐκέτι  no  longer 
Parse: Adverb
Root: οὐκέτι  
Sense: no longer, no more, no further.
εἰμὶ  am  I 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
ἄξιος  worthy 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἄξιος  
Sense: weighing, having weight, having the weight of another thing of like value, worth as much.
κληθῆναι  to  be  called 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Passive
Root: καλέω  
Sense: to call.
υἱός  son 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: υἱός  
Sense: a son.
σου  of  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 2nd Person Singular
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
(ποίησόν  make 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: ποιέω  
Sense: to make.
με  me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Accusative 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
ἕνα  one 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: εἷς  
Sense: one.
τῶν  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
μισθίων  hired  servants 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: μίσθιος  
Sense: employed for hire, hired.
σου)  of  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 2nd Person Singular
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.